Career

Moroder made his first steps in music in the Scotch-Club in Aachen and then released a few singles under the name "Giorgio" beginning in 1963 after moving to Berlin, singing in Italian, Spanish, English, and German.

1969–83: Contribution to electronic music

He came to prominence in 1969, when his recording "Looky Looky", released on Ariola Records, was awarded a gold disc in October 1970.<ref name="The Book of Golden Discs">Murrells, Joseph (1978). The Book of Golden Discs (2nd ed.). London: Barrie and Jenkins Ltd. p. 259. ISBN0-214-20512-6.</ref> He then made a name for himself in studios around Germany in the early 1970s. Often collaborating with lyricist Pete Bellotte, Moroder had a number of hits in his own name including "Son of My Father"<ref name= Always /> in 1972, a No. 1 hit in the UK for Chicory Tip, before releasing the synthesizer-driven From Here to Eternity, a notable chartbuster in 1977. That same year he co-wrote and produced the seminal Donna Summer hit single "I Feel Love",<ref name= Always /><ref name= undr>"Hitler's filmmaker to release new film". BBC. 7 January 2002.</ref> the first track in the Hi-NRG genre. The following year he released "Chase", the theme from the film Midnight Express. "Chase" is often used on the American syndicated late-night radio show "Coast to Coast" and was also used as an entrance theme for wrestling's group The Midnight Express. These songs achieved some chart success in the United Kingdom, the United States and across Europe, and everywhere disco-mania was spreading. The full film score for Midnight Express which featured "Chase" won him his first Academy Award for Best Original Score in 1979.

1984–92: Recognition and hiatus

Giorgio Moroder in 2007

In 1984, Moroder compiled a new restoration and edit of the silent filmMetropolis (1927) and provided it with a contemporary soundtrack. This soundtrack includes seven pop music tracks from Pat Benatar, Jon Anderson, Adam Ant, Billy Squier, Loverboy, Bonnie Tyler and Freddie Mercury. He also integrated the old-fashioned intertitles into the film as subtitles as a means of improving continuity, and he also increased the film's framerate to 24 frames a second. Since the original speed was unknown this choice was controversial. Known as the "Moroder version", it sparked debate among film buffs, with outspoken critics and supporters of the film falling into equal camps.<ref>"New Metropolis Sparks Controversy at Cannes". Variety. 16 May 1984.</ref><ref>Elsaesser, Thomas (2002). "Innocence Restored? Reading and Re-reading a 'Classic': Georgio Moroder's Metropolis". In Minden, Michael; Bachmann, Holger. Fritz Lang's Metropolis: Cinematic Visions of Technology and Fear. Boydell & Brewer. p. 124. ISBN1-57113-146-9. Retrieved August 18, 2017 – via Google Books. Moroder's reissue...was bound to offend the purists if only because it smacked of such crass commercialism and seemed so evidently calculated to jump the culture barrier.</ref> Most critics agree that, the opinion of film purists aside, Moroder's version was a welcome addition.<ref>Jurkiewicz, Kenneth (March 1990). "Using Film in the Humanities Classroom: The Case of Metropolis". The English Journal. 79 (3): 47. Although harshly criticized for its synthesized rock score, Moroder's reconstruction does have the virtue of clarifying a muddled plotline...Moroder's new version provides some illuminating changes in narrative continuity and character motivation, while still preserving the integrity of Lang's extravagant satiric vision.</ref><ref>Bertellini, Giorgio (Autumn 1995). "Restoration, Genealogy and Palimpsests". Film History. 7 (3): 277–290.</ref> In 1984, Moroder worked with Philip Oakey of The Human League to make the album Philip Oakey & Giorgio Moroder, which was a UK singles chart hit with "Together in Electric Dreams", title track to the 1984 film Electric Dreams. The same year saw him collaborating with Kajagoogoo frontman Limahl for their worldwide hit "The NeverEnding Story".

The theme from Midnight Express was sampled by hip-hop duo OutKast for their song "Return of the Gangsta", and by hip-hop producer J Dilla for "Phantom of the Synths", a beat later used by MF DOOM for "Gazzillion Ear" and by Jay Electronica for "Dimethyltryptamine". Professional wrestling tag team The Midnight Express used the theme as their ring entry music in the 1980s.

Before his career reboot with Daft Punk, Moroder dedicated decades to his personal hobbies/projects. He designed a car with Marcello Gandini and ex-Lamborghini personnel, the Cizeta-Moroder V16T. Also in a recent interview, he spoke about architectural design of a pyramid-like apartment that was supposed to take place in Dubai. It was never built. Other projects included creating his own cognac liquor and getting involved with digital and neon art and putting on shows. <ref>"Giorgio Moroder: Back to the Future". 22 May 2013.</ref>